A Nashville, Tennessee, man has been arrested and charged with federal child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced on July 29. Joseph Dalton Bowman, 32, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts: coercion of a minor, production of child pornography, and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Bowman appeared before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant on July 27 and was ordered detained.
Investigators believe there may be additional victims connected to this case. Authorities said Bowman may have had contact with minors in several cities across multiple states including Lakeland and Tampa in Florida; North Chesterfield and Glen Allen in Virginia; Covington in Kentucky; Myrtle Beach in South Carolina; New York City and Brooklyn in New York; Mulvane and Caldwell in Kansas; Kansas City in Missouri; Memphis, Nashville, and Mount Juliet in Tennessee; Orlando in Florida; as well as Dallas and Frisco in Texas.
Law enforcement urges anyone who suspects their child may have had contact with Joseph Dalton Bowman—either directly or through social media accounts such as “snapwithdalton”—to call the HSI Tipline at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP or submit a tip online via the HSI Online Tip Form or NCMEC CyberTipline. Officials state that all necessary steps will be taken to protect minors’ identities and confidential information.
If convicted, Bowman faces up to life imprisonment for these charges. The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations – Child Exploitation Group along with the Frisco Police Department, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Calli Bailey is prosecuting.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS since May 2006—to address child sexual exploitation using federal, state, and local resources to apprehend offenders exploiting children online as well as identify victims.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas supports victims through dedicated services, operates offices across six cities including Sherman where this case originated, employs about 100 staff members including approximately 50 assistant attorneys, covers 43 counties throughout East Texas while prosecuting federal crimes as part of the United States Department of Justice, according to the official website.